Telangana woman, who rode 1,400km to rescue son, prays for his safety in Ukraine

The Telangana-based local school headmistress, Razia Begum, who stunned people when she rode over 1,400 km in a scooter to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh to bring her son Aman safely back home during the first lockdown, finds herself in another challenging situation. This single mother has to grapple with anxiety over the fate of her son, who is now stuck in war-torn Ukraine.

Only this time she can only “pray for his safety”. She had brought him back from wherever she physically could, said an anxious Begum to journalists. But this time all she can do is wait for him to come “online on the phone” and assure her that he is safe.

Her son, Mohammed Nizamuddin Aman (21), is a first-year MBBS student at Sumy State University, where many Indian students are stranded. He has been hiding in the hostel’s basement along with 700 others and the situation seems grim as food and water supplies have dwindled and there is patchy electricity and internet.

The anxious mother, who is a resident of a Nellore village, told indianexpress.com that she keeps checking her phone to see if he is online or can be reached. “Sitting here at home, what else can I do other than offer prayers? I can’t go to Ukraine to bring him back, right?” she asked.

Aman had gone to the Ukraine to study MBBS last year on the suggestion of a relative since it was more economical abroad. They had thought it was a good opportunity but nobody thought the country would face a war five months after her son went.

Also read: ‘Tomorrow’ never comes for 700 Indian students stuck in Sumy, Ukraine

According to Begum, each time her son gets on a video call with her from Ukraine, he would greet her with a smiling face and tell her to stay strong and trust in God. Her son is very bold and reassures her that he would return home alive, said the report quoting Begum. He tells his mother not to worry and not to follow the news (of war) since she would not be able to digest the real news.

Instead, Aman told her that he is her news, that he is safe and he will stay in contact.

Aman had called her on Saturday morning and told her the situation was very bad. There was a lot of bombarding and shelling happening outside, said Begum. They were managing with whatever food they have, but that would not be sufficient for another day, he had told her, adding that they don’t have enough drinking water as well.

While the district collector of Nizamabad gave her an audience and collected all relevant details, local MLC Kalwakuntala Kavitha has assured her support, said Begum.

The students from Sumi State University had posted a video on social media which went viral. They said that they were tired of waiting for evacuation for the past ten days and were planning to walk to the border–to the city of Mariupol where Russia has announced a ceasefire to allow civilians to evacuate.

The distance between Mariupol and Sumy is over 600 km but a student could be heard saying in the video that they were at the end of their tether and ready to risk their lives.